Wire Jacks

joeradza

joeradza

Gold Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Messages
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This is my first post in the Schrade Collector's Forum. I'm active over on The Porch for traditionals. A lot of what I know about the wire jacks I've learned here and on one other forum. Instead of resurrecting old threads I'm starting anew.

Thanks to Steve @oregon and nikoknife48 nikoknife48 for info and knives.

From what I know I'm missing the large hawkbill (possible) and the copper blade and the axe (unicorns). The two small hawkbills are the Schrade and a Boker. There are the Boy and Girl Scout mess kits. The Boy Scout has the original box which as you can see sold for $2 at J.C. Penney. All the forks are mismarked with the patent date of 1/72/42 as is common. One thing I did notice is my large clip point, which is like new, doesn't have the rough ridges that I normally see on the large patterns.

I recently posted a photo of the large spearpoint with one of my John Lloyd sowbellies. To my way of thinking the wire jacks are in their own way custom knives in design and manufacturing techniques.IMG_0095-1024x637.JPG IMG_0079-1024x908.JPG IMG_0080-1024x826.JPG IMG_0094-1024x987.JPG IMG_0081-1024x901.JPG IMG_0085-1024x768.JPG IMG_0086-1024x768.JPG IMG_0082-1024x805.JPG IMG_0083-1024x888.JPG
 
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Happy to contribute to a great collection! I’ll let you know if I come across one one my next flea market adventure.
 
My very small collection.

I65iO5A.jpg
 
Another variation for my wire jack collection. A small (3 1/4") hawkbill with the 1926 tang stamp and yellow safety insert. It bears an etch of a florist as many do. Other than some pepper spots it's in excellent condition.IMG_1032-918x742.JPG
 
I just received three more wire jacks, two of which I needed to close the gap for my collection.
One is another small hawkbill with a company name embossed. I can't tell if it had a yellow safety insert or if it faded or was another color. The second is a large hawkbill that I'd been looking for. It too came with a blade etch which I think is an outlier and last but certainly not least is a small hawkbill with the copper blade made for the explosives industry. A rarity for sure.
That leaves a small spear point without a bottle opener (which I recently lost out on ebay) and the rarest of the rare, the AXE. The search continues.
The bottom two photos is the current state of the collection minus the mess kits and a few users.IMG_1103-1024x839.JPG IMG_1088(1)-1024x992.JPG IMG_1104-1024x771.JPG
 
Greetings Joe,
Your Copper blade is actually Beryllium Copper which is stable in solid form but highly toxic when ground and listed as a carcinogen. The dust and fumes can cause Chronic Beryllium Lung Disease. It was a common material used for springs in automatic knives.
 
William Schrade said:
Greetings Joe,
Your Copper blade is actually Beryllium Copper which is stable in solid form but highly toxic when ground and listed as a carcinogen. The dust and fumes can cause Chronic Beryllium Lung Disease. It was a common material used for springs in automatic knives.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info. I was very happy to have found the copper blade. It is satisfying to try and put together a collection. In my opinion the wire jacks are some of the most innovative and distinctive knives ever made.
I understand the axe was a prototype and will probably be unobtainable. I'll keep searching. Do you know if there were other prototypes that might have been made that I might keep an eye out for?
 
Just a quick pic of the large hawkbill and a second copper hawkbill I recently found. It's missing the finger guard but I don't know if it's missing or came that way. Can you shed any light on that William Schrade William Schrade ?IMG_1728-1280x890.JPG IMG_1643-1024x918.JPG
 
Just filled a hole in my Schrade wire jack collection. It's a small hawkbill with the 1926 patent date on the tang. As you can see it's somewhat stained and the finger guard is missing the red paint but mechanically it's in excellent condition especially considering its age and what these wire jacks were usually subjected to.IMG_2079-1024x680.JPG
 
I carry and use some of my wire jacks but this is the best user pattern as far as I’m concerned. It’s the large (4”) spear point. The problem is it is only the second one I’ve encountered and I’m worried about losing or damaging it. It’s the only knife I’ve ever felt that way about. The only way to overcome this feeling is to find another one. 605AE8BE-6301-426F-A163-4417ABF16F74.jpeg
 
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